Coyote Hunting Oregon Laws & Regulations

Coyotes are defined as a Predatory Animal in Oregon. (PREDATORY ANIMALS: Include coyotes, feral swine, rabbits, rodents and birds (excluding game birds) which are or may be destructive to agricultural crops, products and activities.)

They are also listed among the UNPROTECTED MAMMALS: Badger, coyote, gophers, moles, mountain beaver, nutria, opossum, porcupine, spotted skunk, striped skunk, weasel and yellow-bellied marmot. For any person owning, leasing, occupying, possessing or having charge or dominion over any land (or an agent of this person) who is taking or attempting to take coyote, gopher, mountain beaver (boomer) marmot, nutria, or porcupine on that property, these six species are considered to be predatory animals.

Is there a specific season for coyotes in Oregon? Open season entire year.

Is there a bag limit for coyotes in Oregon? No tag required. No closed season or bag limit.

What are the legal hunting hours in Oregon? Game mammals may only be hunted from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset.

Are electronic game calls legal in Oregon? Yes

Are decoys legal in Oregon? Yes, for predators, however, except for purposes of law enforcement or wildlife management, the use of decoys with moving parts is prohibited for all big game species. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, decoys with parts that are powered by a motor, battery, human action (for example, cable or pull-string), or the wind. Flexible or adjustable parts that permit placement or adjustment of a decoy but do not otherwise move do not constitute “moving parts”. This rule is intended to ban decoys that attract wildlife via movement.

What firearms are approved/disapproved for coyotes in Oregon? Fully automatic firearms prohibited. Semiautomatic rifles with a magazine capacity greater than five cartridges prohibited (except for western gray squirrel). Military or full-metal jacket bullets in original or altered form prohibited.

Are suppressors allowed in Oregon? If you legally own the silencer and it is legally registered to you, then there is no law against it being used for hunting. So as long as it’s a legal suppressor, then it’s legal to hunt any predatory animal in Oregon.

Legal ammunition or restrictions for coyotes in Oregon? Hunters may use .22 caliber or smaller centerfire firearms for hunting coyotes in Juniper, Beatys Butte, Whitehorse and Owyhee units, in Wagontire Unit south of Lk Co Rd 5-14 and those portions of the Beulah Unit in Malheur and Baker Cos. during or Rocky Mt bull or either-sex elk centerfire firearm seasons. Legal .22 caliber centerfire firearms include common cartridges such as .222, .223, .22-250, .220 Swift and others less than .23 caliber.

Is night hunting allowed in Oregon? Neither landowners nor their agents need a permit from ODFW to spotlight predatory animals (as defined in ORS 610.002) on land they own or lawfully occupy. ODA has authority to define “agent” for purposes of the predatory animal statute. Written documentation is not required. (Predatory Animals means coyotes, rabbits, rodents and feral swine which are or may be destructive to agricultural crops.)

No person shall cast an artificial light from a motor vehicle while in possession of a weapon; or cast an artificial light upon a game mammal, predatory animal, or livestock from within 500 feet of a motor vehicle while in possession of a weapon. Exception: Landowners or their agents hunting predatory animals on land they own or lawfully occupy.

No person shall use an artificial light for hunting any wildlife, except raccoon, bobcat and opossum provided the light is not cast from or attached to a motor vehicle. This includes laser sights or any other sights which project a beam to the target. This does not include battery operated sights which only light the reticle.

No person shall hunt any wildlife with infrared or any other night vision sight.

Can you hunt from a vehicle in Oregon? No person shall hunt any wildlife from a motor-propelled vehicle. Exceptions: 1) A qualified disabled hunter may obtain an “Oregon Disabilities Hunting and Fishing Permit” to hunt from a motor-propelled vehicle except while the vehicle is in motion or on any public Rd or Hwy, or within Cooperative Travel Management Areas. 2) Landowners and their agents can shoot predatory animals from motorized vehicles on land they own or lawfully occupy.

Can baiting be used to hunt coyotes in Oregon? No

Can dogs be used to hunt coyotes in Oregon? No person shall hunt any game mammal with dogs, except western gray squirrel.

Is there a bounty program in Oregon? No

This information is for informational purposes only. This website has no affiliation with any department of the above mentioned state. For your own safety please contact your local office to verify the information presented. CoyoteHunting101.com is not responsible for your own stupidity.

12 Comments

I don’t think there is…if you look on page 18 of the 2018 regulations towards the bottom you will find where it says a semi auto with a magazine capacity greater than five rounds…but if you notice up above that is says “genera weapons provisions for hunting GAME mammals. Coyote are NOT GAME mammals….

I had the same question, I spoke with fish and game and they said to hunt dogs only a hunting license is required. But to trap, or to sell hides a fur bearers license is required. If keeping the hide for yourself no fur bearers license required

There are a couple bits of incorrect info on this site. I just got off the phone with OSP to confirm. There are no magazine restrictions for coyote hunting in Oregon, the 5 round mag restriction is only for big game. They confirmed 30 round mags are fine. Also ball / full metal jacket ammo is legal for coyote. Also I can’t say whether or not you can use dogs for hunting coyotes, but I know you can use them for rabbits, but they can’t run free in certain areas during certain bird seasons, so dogs aren’t completely prohibited for hunting in Oregon. Hope this helps some, some of the refs can be pretty vague, if you have questions I suggest calling the game officers at OSP instead of fish and game, I have been told many different things by fish and game, but they aren’t the ones that will cite you or worse if you are breaking a law

This site is proof that you have to read the game regulations and if your in doubt ask game officers questions…the statement about not being able to use a semi auto with a magazine that holds more than 5 rounds for coyote hunting is extremely FALSE. sites like this that don’t do all the research needed can get people into a lot of trouble at times and for sure cause problems…in the 2018 Oregon big game hunting regulations go to page 18 and look under general provisions for hunting GAME MAMMALS, you will see the magazine restriction stated there. but then look at page 65 under UNPROTECTED MAMMALS and you will see that unprotected mammals ARE NOT covered under the game mammal, furbearer or sensitive species rules…you will also see that among a large list of mammals listed there, COYOTES are there. In fact they are first on the list. Also the two game cops I talked to confirmed this to be true.
I think there’s enough people out there already trying to diminish our hunting rights and needs without having to deal with misinformation like this.